So you think your school run is bad?

We are all guilty of having a moan about the school run journey. During which we are constantly getting stuck in traffic or undergoing issues with the public transport causing our travel time to nearly double and making us late for the rest of the day.

The change in weather can also have a huge adverse effect on our journey times, as we all experienced recently with the snow storm from the ‘Beast from the East’. Schools and most of the UK shutdown, with temperatures dropping to -2c and many parts of the UK enduring a snowfall of up to 8cm. Some of those who braved the commute were stuck in cars and trains overnight, many having to last all night without food or water in freezing conditions as our travel systems couldn’t cope with the change in weather, whilst forcing the majority of us to stay at home.

But compared to other countries school runs which are mostly taken by young children, is getting stuck in a bit of traffic each day really that bad?

Here are some of the world’s most perilous journeys to school:

This is probably the most remote school in the world in Gulu China. Children will spend a grueling 5 hour journey along a 1ft path to get to school.

Image credits: Sipa Press

At another remote school journey in China, these children from an isolated mountain top village in the Sichuan province take on a deadly 90 minute, 800 metre rock face descent, scrambling down rickety ladders and clinging onto rocks on their way down.

Photograph: Feature China/Barcroft Images

You thought ‘Beast from the East’ was bad, these children don’t have the luxury of schools shutting for ‘snow days’, instead they make the treacherous journey over frozen paths to attend a secluded boarding school in the Himalayas, Zanskar.

Image credits: Timothy Allen

There’s no health and safety board here to close and rebuild this dilapidated suspension bridge in Lebak, Indonesia  for pupils to cross as their only route to school.

Image credits: Reuters

So the next time we are sat in traffic in our warm, comfy cars screaming at the driver in front to move as the light just turned green and we are running late, trying to drag the children into school whilst simultaneously eating breakfast and try to make it to work on time. Spare a thought for these poor children’s treacherous journeys. Or, if your children are complaining about their 15 minute leisurely walk to school they have to make, show them this and hopefully they will gain some perspective.